You qualify for the UAE’s 10-year property investor Golden Visa by owning UAE real estate worth at least AED 2 million, then applying through the land department of the emirate where that property is registered. In Dubai that is the Dubai Land Department, which certifies the value and passes your file to immigration. Government fees for one applicant come to AED 9,884.75, and the permit is normally issued within seven to ten working days.
The visa renews for another ten years as long as you still meet the same conditions. Here is what counts as a qualifying property, what you pay, what you hand over at the counter, and what stays attached to your title deed for the next decade.
What property qualifies for the 10-year visa?
Any UAE property worth AED 2 million or more, valued by the land department rather than by you or the seller. You can reach that figure with a single home or with several properties added together, and there is no limit on how many you combine.
The property must be fully owned by you and registered in your own name. If you hold a share in a jointly owned property, that share on its own has to be worth AED 2 million. This catches people out, because Dubai’s separate two-year investor visa only asks for a AED 400,000 share.
Three property types cover almost every application:
- Ready property. Your title deed, or e-Certificate of Title, is the starting point. The land department confirms the value through a property status statement, and a valuation from a licensed valuation office can also be accepted.
- Off-plan property. Units bought before completion count when the developer is approved by the authority in that emirate.
- Mortgaged property. Accepted, though the conditions change depending on where you bought.
The property can sit anywhere a foreign national is allowed to own it. Freehold ownership for non-nationals is limited to designated areas, and each emirate sets its own. Dubai has the widest range, which is why most property Golden Visas run through the Dubai Land Department, but Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaimah all have zones open to foreign buyers.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi handle mortgages differently.
Dubai looks at what the property is worth. Abu Dhabi looks at how much of it is yours.
In Dubai, a mortgaged property is fine. You bring a no-objection letter from your bank confirming it does not object to a residence permit being issued on the property, along with the amount you have paid and the balance still owed.
Abu Dhabi sets a harder test. Your own money in the property has to reach AED 2 million on its own. On a villa worth AED 5 million, the outstanding mortgage principal cannot be more than AED 3 million. For off-plan units there, you need proof that at least AED 2 million has already gone to the developer.
| Dubai | Abu Dhabi | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum value | AED 2 million | AED 2 million |
| Mortgage | Accepted with a bank no-objection letter | Accepted, but your own equity must still reach AED 2 million |
| Off-plan | Accepted from an approved developer | At least AED 2 million must already be paid to the developer |
| Where you apply | Dubai Land Department service centres | Abu Dhabi Residents Office, through TAMM |
If you are buying specifically to get the visa, price this difference in before you sign anything.
Which value counts?
The certified one, not the price you agreed with the seller. The land department issues the certificate that the immigration authority reads, and valuations from licensed valuation offices can be used as well.
So if your purchase price sits near AED 2 million, get that certificate before you plan anything around it. A number just under the line stops the file, and the way forward is adding another property to close the gap.
How the application works, step by step
You have to be inside the UAE when you apply, and only the applicant can attend. Representatives are not accepted at the counter.
- Get the value certified. Ask the land department for the certificate confirming your property is worth AED 2 million or more. If a mortgage or a fresh valuation is involved, deal with it here, because everything downstream depends on this number.
- Collect your paperwork. The list is short and is set out in the next section.
- Apply at a Golden Visa service center. In Dubai these sit at Al Manara Centre, the Golden Cube and the Dubai World Trade Centre, along with several registration trustee offices.
- Pay the fees and take the medical test. The medical fitness test is done at the centre on the same visit, and it applies to everyone aged 18 and over.
- Cancel your current residence visa, if you have one. Once the Golden Visa is approved in principle, an existing UAE residence permit has to be cancelled and your status changed over. Any unpaid fines sitting on the old file have to be settled before that happens.
- Sort out health insurance and biometrics. A two-year health insurance policy is part of the file, and you may be asked for fingerprints if immigration does not already hold them.
- Receive the permit. The residence permit is emailed to you, and the new Emirates ID follows by delivery to your registered address.
There is also a federal route. The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security runs an online eligibility check and a nomination flow through its smart services, which is the path to use if you are outside the Dubai and Abu Dhabi channels.
What documents do you need
For the main applicant in Dubai:
- Passport
- e-Certificate of Title or title deed
- A recent personal photo that meets the identity authority’s specification
- Emirates ID, if you already have one
- A copy of your current residence permit, if you hold one
- A bank no-objection letter, if the property is mortgaged
Sponsoring a family adds a certified marriage contract, certified birth certificates for children, health insurance and an IBAN number. Sponsoring parents also needs a certified dependency certificate from your consulate. Certificates can be uploaded in advance through the land department’s document vault rather than carried in on paper.
What it costs
AED 9,884.75 for a single applicant in Dubai. The breakdown looks like this.
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Medical examination | AED 700 |
| Emirates ID, 10 years | AED 1,153 |
| Residence permit confirmation, 10 years | AED 2,856.75 |
| Dubai Land Department fees | AED 4,020 |
| Administrative fees | AED 1,155 |
| Total | AED 9,884.75 |
Each family member on a 10-year permit costs AED 5,774.50, plus AED 318.75 to open the family sponsorship file and AED 100 for each person added. Parents are charged at the same AED 5,774.50 rate.
Those are government charges only. A valuation certificate, health insurance premiums, and any trustee or typing centre service fee sit on top. Fee lines get updated from time to time, so it is worth checking the current figures on the Dubai Land Department’s Golden Visa service page before you go.
How long it takes
Seven to ten working days in Dubai once your file is in and the medical is done. GDRFA Dubai puts its own part of the process at around five days.
In practice, what happens before submission decides your timeline. Getting a bank letter or a valuation certificate is the slow part, and neither is something you can rush on the day.
Who you can bring with you
Your spouse, your children at any age, and your parents. Domestic staff can be sponsored too, up to three people.
Children do not age out of this visa the way they do on a standard residence permit, which matters if you have teenagers or adult children studying here. Everyone you sponsor gets a permit that runs alongside yours, so the whole family comes up for renewal at the same time.
What the visa actually gives you
Ten years of self-sponsored residence with no employer attached to your status, and no renewal every two or three years. You can live, work and study in the UAE on it, and you sponsor your own file rather than depending on a company or a national partner to hold it for you.
The benefit most people underestimate is the exemption from the six-month rule. A standard UAE residence permit lapses if you stay outside the country for more than 180 days. Golden Residence does not work that way. It becomes void only if it expires while you are outside the UAE. For an investor who spends most of the year somewhere else, that single difference is usually the reason to bother with the AED 2 million threshold at all.
What stays attached to your property
A lien. When the visa is issued, the land department registers a lien on the title deed so the property stays in your name for as long as the residency runs. The property cannot be disposed of during the ten years while your visa rests on it.
That has two practical effects.
Selling stops being a simple decision. To sell and keep your residency, you need other qualifying holdings worth AED 2 million to put in front of the authorities before the sale goes through. If what remains falls below the threshold, the Golden Visa has to be cancelled before the sale can complete.
Renewal also depends on the same conditions still being true, and they can be checked at any point during the ten years. That includes being able to support yourself and your family without government support. Nothing new has to be proved at the ten-year mark, so long as the property is still yours and still certified above the threshold. The conditions applied to golden residence for investors are set out on GDRFA Dubai’s service page, and they are the same ones you met on day one.
Before listing a visa-linked property, work out what your residency will rest on afterwards. Arranging that first is far easier than unpicking it later.
How it differs from the two-year investor visa
Dubai runs two property-linked residence permits and they are easy to mix up.
The two-year investor visa has no minimum property value for a sole owner who fully owns a completed, registered unit. Joint owners need a share worth at least AED 400,000 each. It renews every two years and it does not carry the Golden Visa’s exemption from the six-month rule.
The 10-year Golden Visa keeps its AED 2 million floor. Changes to the entry-level permit do not move that number, and a property that qualifies for one does not automatically qualify for the other.
If your budget is under AED 2 million, the two-year permit is the realistic starting point, with the Golden Visa available later if your holdings grow past the line.
Frequently asked questions
Does a mortgaged property count toward the AED 2 million?
In Dubai, yes. You submit a no-objection letter from your bank showing what you have paid and what is still owed. In Abu Dhabi, your own equity has to reach AED 2 million, so the outstanding mortgage cannot push your share below that line.
Can I combine several smaller properties to reach AED 2 million?
Yes. There is no cap on how many properties you add together, as long as the certified total reaches AED 2 million and every title is registered in your own name. A share in a jointly owned property only counts if that share alone is worth AED 2 million.
Do I need to live in the UAE to keep the visa?
No. Golden Residence holders are exempt from the rule that cancels a normal residence permit after 180 days abroad. The permit becomes void only if it expires while you are outside the country, so plan your renewal around any long trip.
Can I apply on an off-plan property?
Yes, if you bought from a developer approved by the authority in that emirate. Dubai works from the registered value of the unit. Abu Dhabi wants proof that at least AED 2 million has already been paid to the developer before the file moves.
What happens if I sell the property?
Your residency loses its basis unless another qualifying property covers it. Show the authorities other holdings worth AED 2 million before the sale completes, or the Golden Visa has to be cancelled first. A lien on the title makes this a step you cannot skip.
Conclusion
Own UAE property certified at AED 2 million or more, get the value confirmed by the land department, then apply in person at a Golden Visa service centre with your title deed, passport and photo. Budget around AED 9,884.75 in government fees and one to two weeks. A good result is a 10-year permit, family sponsored on the same file, and a clear plan for what your residency rests on if you ever sell.
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